How The Six Made Their Way In The World is a German Fairy Tale collected by The Brothers Grimm.
The story begins with an unnamed soldier being discharged from the king's military; he only gets paid with three coins. The soldier is unhappy and vows to one day get all of the king's wealth. After journeying for awhile, he encounters five other men and recruits them to be his servants. These people are:
- A man who pulled six trees from the ground with his hands.
- A sniper with keen eyesight able to shoot a fly on a twig two miles away.
- A man whose breath was powerful enough to turn windmills.
- A very fast runner who actually had to remove one leg to slow down.
- A man who causes frost unless he wears his hat crooked over one ear.
The king announces a footrace between any challenger and his daughter; any winner gets to marry the princess but anyone losing is executed. The soldier arrives with his companions and has the runner compete on his behalf. At first, the very fast runner has an easy time winning until he takes a nap. The sniper fires a shot from far away to awaken him; the runner awakens and finishes the race, winning it easily.
The princess does not want to marry the soldier and the king comes up with a plan: kill the soldier and his companions. He tries to do this by luring them to a banquet with an iron floor beneath them heated up in an attempt to burn them all to death. However, the frost man saves them by straightening his hat and stopping the intense heat.
The king is now out of options and offers the soldier a bribe in exchange for not marrying the princess. The soldier is allowed to take as much wealth from the king's vaults as his servant can carry. Unfortunately for the king, the super strong servant takes EVERYTHING in the treasury. The king sends his own troops after the soldier's company to recover his riches but the powerful lungs of the soldier's servant with super breath blows all but one of them into oblivion. The lone survivor returns to tell the king what happened and the king...decides to leave the soldier alone from now on.
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See also The Six Servants, another fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm and the Russian folktale The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship which are also fairy tales that involve the main character finding a group of people with special abilities that they use to complete tasks for a monarch.
Tropes included:
- Animated Adaptation: This story was adapted for Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics under the title "The Six Who Went Far".
- An Arm and a Leg: A variation of type 3; the very fast runner was somehow able to remove one of his own legs to slow himself down.
- Blow You Away: One of the soldier's servants has the ability to blow gale-force winds, and uses it to repel a troop of the king's soldiers at the end.
- Defied Trope: With Kill It with Fire. The king attempts to kill the soldier and his servants by luring them to a banquet and burning them with a hot iron floor from underneath. Then the frost-bringer servant uses his power to stop the heat.
- Dude, Where's My Reward?: The king promises anyone to marry his daughter if he defeats her in a footrace. The soldier's companions win the race on his behalf, but the princess refuses to marry him, so the king offers him a bribe instead (after failing at killing him and his group).
- An Ice Person: The frost-bringer can create frost when his hat is straightened and not crooked over his ear.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: The sniper working for the soldier. He is able to see, aim and shoot targets miles away.
- Kill It with Fire: The king attempts to kill the soldier and his servants by luring them to a banquet and burning them with a hot iron floor from underneath. Defied when the frost-bringer servant uses his power to stop the heat.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: After his army is unable to recover his treasure and knowing the abilities of the soldier's company, the king wisely chooses not to do anything else.
- Nameless Narrative: Much like other Grimm fairy tales, none of the characters get a name.
- Persona Non Grata: In the animated version of this tale on Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics, the soldier and his companions banish the king and princess for their constant treachery, leaving the people of their former kingdom to install a new ruler. The soldier turns down the throne so he and his companions can continue adventuring.
- Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: An out-of-work soldier gets back at a greedy king with the help of a band of peasants who just happen to have supernatural abilities that help him in his quest. These include a strong-man who carries uprooted trees like they were kindling, a hunter with Improbable Aiming Skills, a runner with such Super-Speed he has to remove one of his legs to keep himself from going Too Fast to Stop, a man who can blow powerful winds out his nose, and a man who can generate a field of bitter cold just by straightening his hat.
- Standard Hero Reward: Subverted. The king promised his daughter's hand in marriage to anyone who defeats her in a footrace. But when the princess has no intention to marry the soldier after being defeated by him, the soldier ends up with only the king’s wealth, and that by threatening him. The story ends with him going traveling with his companions rather than staying to marry the princess.
- Subverted Trope: With Standard Hero Reward. The king promised his daughter's hand in marriage to anyone who defeats her in a footrace. But when the princess has no intention to marry the soldier after being defeated by him, the soldier ends up with only the king’s wealth, and that by threatening him. The story ends with him going traveling with his companions rather than staying to marry the princess.
- Super-Breath: One of the companions has breath strong enough to turn many windmills. He even uses it as an offensive weapon to get rid of pursuing enemies.
- Super-Speed: The fast runner's ability. So much that the runner had to remove one of his legs to slow down!
- Super-Strength: One of the companions has this and uses it to pull whole trees out of the ground.
- Wealthy Ever After: The soldier's goal and thanks to his servants, he achieves it at the end.
